1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable enclosures. More particularly, this invention relates to enclosures for covering an automobile, snowmobile, patio furniture or other objects with a light-weight cover to protect the object from the environment.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently there exist many types of enclosures for covering automobiles, snowmobiles, patio furniture, plants and other objects to protect them from the environment such as precipitation or excessive heat or cold. Representative patents relating to enclosures include:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,381U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,858U.S. Pat. No.6,092,857U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,406U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,196U.S. Pat. No.5,567,002U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,915U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,460U.S. Pat. No.5,176,421U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,849U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,257U.S. Pat. No.5,040,557U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,842U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,040U.S. Pat. No.4,925,234U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,933U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,065U.S. Pat. No.4,718,711U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,827U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,286U.S. Pat. No.5,112,098
The above-listed patents teach automotive enclosures and covers that are limited in utility. Some employ lightweight fabrics and are therefore highly portable. Unfortunately, being so light, they cannot be stored adjacent to the automobile so that they can be conveniently used when needed to cover the automobile. Others enclosures comprise permanent structures that cannot be easily transported.
Thus, there is a need in the marketplace for a storage enclosure for an automobile cover that is portable with a water compartment to add weight to the enclosure so that it may on the one hand be emptied of water and conveniently placed in the automobile's trunk or, on the other hand, filled with water to add weight so that it can be semi-permanently placed next to the automobile for repeated daily use without concern that it might otherwise be blown away.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the portable enclosure art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a storage cassette for storing a cover, the storage cassette being carried by a wheeled carriage.
Another object of this invention is to provide a wheeled carriage for a storage cassette in which the carriage is weighted by an integral water compartment.
Another object of this invention is to provide a storage cassette and wheeled carriage therefore in which the storage cassette is operatively coupled to the wheeled carriage permitting the opening of the cassette and removal of the cover stored therein.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.